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We meet for 2 ½ hours
once a week for a formal drill evening, currently on a Tuesday.
A typical evening program will always open and close with parade
and will involve members participating in a range of activities
with fire training centering around the "Firefighters
Awards" which provide a structured and progressive training
program leading to five levels of award. By popular demand we are
invited to perform displays at many public events each year. This
either involves a fire display in which members rescue casualties
from a specially built house or involves two teams of members
battling it out through an obstacle drill, set around a fire
theme. Such displays are regularly seen at local carnivals, school
fetes, fun days and at social clubs.
Within the Brigade, a
highlight on many years has seen A2 YFA performing at the Fire
Brigade Muster in Cannon Hill Park. We performed an arena display
at Muster's inaugural
year and have continued the tradition with
fire displays, obstacle drills and barrel squirts in many subsequent years. Similarly, we are
regularly seen at fire station open days on "A" Division
and during VIP visits. These have included a special abseil
display for the Home Secretary and an interactive display for a
visit by Baroness Blatch to Aston. The less formal setting of the
swimming baths provides the venue for the annual Brigade swimming
gala, where the our members have never left without a collection
of prizes.
Every
year a group of young firefighters, one
member selected from each
YFA branch, combine to fulfill the role of Chief Fire Officers
Cadet, providing them with the honour of supporting Mr Knight at
official Brigade engagements (the former CFO, Mr. Meldrum is
pictured here), such as award ceremonies and passing out parades.
Members of A2 YFA have also joined with members of other branches
to represent the UK in Finland, Belgium, (Germany) and most
recently in Denmark, where six members participated in the CTIF
Competitions. These involve a firefighting drill competition and
an obstacle drill/relay race, both requiring a high degree of
individual skills and team work.
 One
of the most memorable and spectacular displays was the 1994
Birmingham International Tattoo at the National Indoor Arena. The
performances involved over forty members in front of 8,500 people
each night. These included our rope rescue team abseiling into the
Arena from the internal gantry and unsuspecting members of the
audience receiving a bouquet of flowers and a teddy bear rescued
during our "burning house" display.
 1996
saw another first for us when "A2 went up K2" - without
leaving our local shopping center's car park! Twenty five members
took part in a sponsored ladder climb to the height of the world's
second highest mountain K2 (8,611 metres) in less than seven
hours. The members climbed 350 metres each using three ladders
pitched against a specially built scaffold tower.
Looking back it is
hard to define what has made the group so successful. One of the
key attributes of A2 YFA has been its open door policy, where
anyone between the ages of eleven and sixteen can join regardless
of any selection criteria. This has resulted in a diverse
membership from which both members and instructors learn. Members
are given opportunities and much encouragement by a superb team of
instructors who voluntarily provide hours of coaching to overcome
an individual's difficulties. They have never given up with a
member. All this with the member's youthful enthusiasm and their
passion to develop their skills and undertake activities that they
would not normally consider.
A2 YFA is set to grow
from strength to strength and will continue to provide young
people with tremendous opportunities, challenges and support long
into the future.
Members and
instructors (all of whom are volunteers) enjoy themselves, and we
would like to take this opportunity to thank all the individuals
and companies who have helped to make the last thirteen years such
a success.
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